Hastingsia bracteosa
Encyclopedia
Hastingsia bracteosa is a rare species of flowering plant in the agave subfamily of the asparagus family
known by the common name large-flowered rushlily. It is endemic to Oregon
in the United States, where it is limited to a twelve-mile stretch of the Illinois Valley
in the southwestern part of the state.
This plant grows from a dark-coated bulb
and produces gray-green leaves up to 52 centimeters long. The slender, erect scape
grows up to 87 centimeters tall. At the top is an inflorescence
which is a raceme
of many flowers. Each flower has tepal
s roughly 1 centimeter long. Some plants produce white flowers and some purple, and where they occur together they can cross to produce pink flowers. White-flowered plants generally occur in the northern part of the species' very small range, and purple plants grow in the southern end, the two separated by a single meadow where they mix. The purple-flowered form was considered a separate species for a time, but they are similar enough that they are now treated as members of the same species.
This plant grows on bog
gy open slopes and in other wetland habitat such as fen
s, springs
and wet meadows, often in areas with serpentine soil
s. Associated plant species include Darlingtonia californica
, Helenium bigelovii
, and Chamaecyparis lawsoniana
. It is often found in serpentine fens dominated by Darlingtonia and with Gentiana setigera
, Castilleja miniata
ssp. elata, and Rudbeckia californica
.
Asparagaceae
Asparagaceae is the botanical name of a family of flowering plants, placed in the order Asparagales of the monocots.In earlier classification systems, the species involved were often treated as belonging to the family Liliaceae...
known by the common name large-flowered rushlily. It is endemic to Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
in the United States, where it is limited to a twelve-mile stretch of the Illinois Valley
Illinois River (Oregon)
The Illinois River is a tributary, about long, of the Rogue River in the U.S. state of Oregon. It drains part of the Klamath Mountains in northern California and southwestern Oregon. The river's main stem begins at the confluence of its east and west forks near Cave Junction in southern Josephine...
in the southwestern part of the state.
This plant grows from a dark-coated bulb
Bulb
A bulb is a short stem with fleshy leaves or leaf bases. The leaves often function as food storage organs during dormancy.A bulb's leaf bases, known as scales, generally do not support leaves, but contain food reserves to enable the plant to survive adverse conditions. At the center of the bulb is...
and produces gray-green leaves up to 52 centimeters long. The slender, erect scape
Scape (botany)
In botany, scapes are leafless flowering stems that rise from the ground. Scapes can have a single flower or many flowers, depending on the species....
grows up to 87 centimeters tall. At the top is an inflorescence
Inflorescence
An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Strictly, it is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed and which is accordingly modified...
which is a raceme
Raceme
A raceme is a type of inflorescence that is unbranched and indeterminate and bears pedicellate flowers — flowers having short floral stalks called pedicels — along the axis. In botany, axis means a shoot, in this case one bearing the flowers. In a raceme, the oldest flowers are borne...
of many flowers. Each flower has tepal
Tepal
Tepals are elements of the perianth, or outer part of a flower, which include the petals or sepals. The term tepal is more often applied specifically when all segments of the perianth are of similar shape and color, or undifferentiated, which is called perigone...
s roughly 1 centimeter long. Some plants produce white flowers and some purple, and where they occur together they can cross to produce pink flowers. White-flowered plants generally occur in the northern part of the species' very small range, and purple plants grow in the southern end, the two separated by a single meadow where they mix. The purple-flowered form was considered a separate species for a time, but they are similar enough that they are now treated as members of the same species.
This plant grows on bog
Bog
A bog, quagmire or mire is a wetland that accumulates acidic peat, a deposit of dead plant material—often mosses or, in Arctic climates, lichens....
gy open slopes and in other wetland habitat such as fen
Fen
A fen is a type of wetland fed by mineral-rich surface water or groundwater. Fens are characterised by their water chemistry, which is neutral or alkaline, with relatively high dissolved mineral levels but few other plant nutrients...
s, springs
Spring (hydrosphere)
A spring—also known as a rising or resurgence—is a component of the hydrosphere. Specifically, it is any natural situation where water flows to the surface of the earth from underground...
and wet meadows, often in areas with serpentine soil
Serpentine soil
A serpentine soil is derived from ultramafic rocks, in particular serpentinite, a rock formed by the hydration and metamorphic transformation of ultramafic rock from the Earth's mantle....
s. Associated plant species include Darlingtonia californica
Darlingtonia californica
Darlingtonia californica , also called the California Pitcher plant, Cobra Lily, or Cobra Plant, is a carnivorous plant, the sole member of the genus Darlingtonia in the family Sarraceniaceae. It is native to Northern California and Oregon, growing in bogs and seeps with cold running water...
, Helenium bigelovii
Helenium bigelovii
The daisylike plant Helenium bigelovii is known as Bigelow's sneezeweed. It is a 1 to 3ft-high plant of the "composite" family that bears ray flowers that are usually bright yellow in color and disc flowers that are yellow in bloom and then turn dark brown...
, and Chamaecyparis lawsoniana
Chamaecyparis lawsoniana
Chamaecyparis lawsoniana is a cypress in the genus Chamaecyparis, family Cupressaceae, known by the name Lawson's Cypress in the horticultural trade, or Port Orford-cedar in its native range . C...
. It is often found in serpentine fens dominated by Darlingtonia and with Gentiana setigera
Gentiana setigera
Gentiana setigera is a species of gentian known by the common name Mendocino gentian. It is native to southern Oregon and northern California where it grows in wet places in the California Coast Ranges.-Description:...
, Castilleja miniata
Castilleja miniata
Castilleja miniata is a species of Indian paintbrush known by the common name giant red Indian paintbrush. It is native to western North America from Alaska to Ontario to California to New Mexico, where it grows usually in moist places in a wide variety of habitat types.-Description:This wildflower...
ssp. elata, and Rudbeckia californica
Rudbeckia californica
Rudbeckia californica is a species of flowering plant in the aster family known by the common name California coneflower. It is native to California, where it grows in the Sierra Nevada, the Klamath Mountains, and northern coastal areas. It can be found in moist habitat types, such as mountain...
.